Row-boat



M. P. DAVIS.

ROWBOAT. No. 521,536. Patented June 19, 1894.

m: NATIGNAL LITNDGRIPHING COMPANY.

WASHINGTON. n. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

MICHAEL F. DAVIS, OF PORTLAND, MAINE.

ROW-BOAT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 521,536, dated June 19,1894.

Application filed June 28, 1890. Renewed September 4, 1893. Serial No.484,796- (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

3e it known that I, MICHAEL F. DAVIS, a citlzen of the United States,residing at Portland, in the county of Cumberland and State ofMaine,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Row-Boats;and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exactdescription of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in theart to which 1t appertains to make and use the same.

Figure 1 is a cross section of a boat having my invention. Fig. 2 is alike view but having the stiffening piece added. Fig. 3 is a perspectiveview in detail of the inside of the boat shown in Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is aperspectlve view of one of the stiffening pieces and 1ts covering. Figs.5, 6, and 7 are respectively edge and plan views of the portions of theWooden planking united by means of cement or otherwise so as to formpractically an integral piece. Fig. 8 is a perspective showing thelining in strips. I

This invention belongs to the classgenerally known as row boats orshells and has for its object the improvement of the skin or body of theboat wherebya lighter and stronger boat can be made than any I havebefore known.

In general my invention consists in lining the inner face of the skin ofthe boat preferably with some textile fabric, water proofed or not, andin internally bracing the boat, and securing the bracing strip bytextile or other attachment and uniting the longitudinal pieces of whichthe skin is composed Whereby two or more pieces can be made practicallyintegral, and in various kindred details, all as will now be more 'fullyset forth and explained.

In the construction of boats of the class above referred to, it has beennecessary to use ribs and to secure the wood to said ribs by means ofnails or rivets but by my invention I dispense with ribs, nails andrivets and simply secure the skin piece or pieces in place by textile orequivalent means of attachment.

In the accompanying drawings A denotes the outside skin or body of theboat. Prior to use in making the boat this wood is lined, on its innerface, by cementing or in any other way of permanent attachment with anysuitable textile or equivalent material B. In the process of doing this,whether by joining the two materials by cement or in whatever way theunion is made, the result is practically an integral element for boatbuilding and this lining also serves sofar to strengthen the wood thatthe wood can be made much thinner than is otherwise now possible, safetyin use and strength of structure being considered. Also when the wood ischecked or fractured the lining will prevent leakage. By my invention,therefore, I produce a lighter, stronger, easier made and more durableboat than has been heretofore made.

At suitable distances along the inside of the boat, at right angles tothe length, are placed the strips 0, preferably of wood, one of which isshownin'detail. These are covered or lined with textile or equivalentmaterial D as in Fig. 4. These strips are placed in pairs, that is, oneon each side, their upper ends reaching about to the gunwale and thelower touching the keelson F as shown in Fig. 2, or they may be placedalternately along the boat. In order to secure them in place the freeend of the covering D is cemented or in any like or suitable way issecured upon the lining of the wooden skin or planking. There may be asmany of the strips as are needed to secure and retain the proper shapeof the boat. The covering of the strips may, in the first instance, beheld in place by cleat or beading c fastened on each side or directlycemented.

One essential feature in this invention is, therefore, the combiningwith the thin veneer a lining so that this veneer each made of one orseveral pieces is rendered tough and strong. By means of this a longshell, or boat, can be made very light and much tougher and strongerthan by any other material I know of.

The material with which the inside of the skin is lined and with whichthe strips are covered need not always be a fabric, for I can use paperand various other materials which will answer the general ends I havenow in view.

Under some circumstances the pieces 0 might be used without lining theinner face of the skin, the attachment beingmade directly upon the innerface of the wood. At the point'where the wood or skin covers under thekeelson F I propose to place several layers b of the lining fabric orother material to guard and protect the skin from harm from blows orimpact at this point. If such additional lining was not interposedbetween the skin, which is very thin, and the rigid keelson a veryslight blow might crush or injure the skin along the line of thekeelson-or strips of wood may be interposed between the keelson andplanking. It might be of value under some circumstances merely to putnarrow strips of lining transversely across the inner face of the woodenshell, as in Fig. 8.

In order that I may use pieces of wood shorter than the entire length ofthe boat, I secure together two or more pieces of ordinary length, endto end, by cement or otherwise as is illustrated in Figs. 5 and 6 andfor this purpose I may use any cement or water proof gum. Several shortpieces of wood can thus be united to form a single strip or plank of anydesired length for boat buildingand the union made so strong as toproduce a strip or plank practically integral throughout its length. Asillustrated in the drawings, the several short pieces are cut or planedaway at an angle at the ends and then at these cut away endsare placedone on the other, cement or other adhesive material being placedbetween, and finally they are planed down to a uniform thickness. As inthe construction of the boat now described I do not use ribs, nails orrivets to hold the wood or skin in place, the strips or planks as abovedescribed, can be planed down very thin and so enable me to make theboat much lighter than has hitherto been done. I propose to manufacture,as an independent article, the lined wooden pines or strips of which theskin of the boat is made.

While I have shown and preferably use a cover for the strips 0 and byits free edges secure it in place, it is possible to use the said stripswithout such cover.

One of the advantages of dispensing with ribs in the construction of theboat is that the planking is free to retain its true shape under allconditions of atmospheric and aqueous influence. hen ribs are used theinevitable difference in expansion and contraction between the rib andplanking causes the latter to warp and pucker longitudinally andtransversely. But by my invention this is avoided and the true shape ofthe planking always preserved.

It is absolutely essential for a racing boat that this fabric should notbe put on the outside of the boat because this would add to the weightof the boat since it would have to be saturated or filled withwater-repellent substance. Even if so saturated or filled, there wouldbe also an appreciable gain of weight in it when introduced into water.Likewise such an exterior covering would tend to roughen the outer faceof the boat and essentially interfere with the speed of the boat throughthe water.

What I claim is 1. In the manufacture of: row boats, a wooden skin linedon the inside only with fabric or light material, in the manner and forthe purposes set forth.

2. In a row boat, the combination of a wooden skin lined, as described,with stilfening pieces covered as set forth and each secured by means ofits said cover to the inside face of the skin.

3. In a row boat, the body or skin A lined internally at B with suitablematerial and combined with the strip 0, covered with the material D, andsecured to the inside face of the boat by the margins of said covering,all as set forth.

4. In a row boat, the skin A lined on the inner face as set forth, andhaving between it and the keelson several layers of the lining,substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

5. In combination with the wooden skin of the boat, the coveredstrengthening strips C, secured by cement, or otherwise, to and upon theinside of said skin by means of the free ends of the cover.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

MICHAEL F. DAVIS.

Witnesses J osnrn Rev, CASSELL SEVERANCE.

